1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to automatic gate openers and, more particularly, to mechanical arrangements for connecting an actuator to a leaf of a gate.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of actuators, namely in the form of electric or other cylinders to control the opening and closing of leaves, namely for gates is well known. These cylinders can be controlled by any suitable means, namely remote controlled by a radio emitting and receiving system without this excluding other modes of control.
The body of the cylinder is generally fixed to part of the pillar where the gate is hinged, whereas the cylinder rod is coupled to the gate.
It appears that this type of cylinder fixing creates great problems on installation and often calls for the use of high capacity cylinders.
At the installation stage and in order to obtain the correct operation of the cylinder, it is essential certain dimensions are adhered to, i.e., namely the distance between the hinges of the body and the leaf concerned in two orthogonal planes.
This condition means the cylinder must be fixed at very precise locations which does not always prove to be rational depending, for example, on the structure of the gate and/or embodiment of the pillar. It is often necessary to make a cut in the pillar in order to fix the cylinder. This cut often gives rise to cracks which may appear in the pillar.
In order to avoid making this cut, in the case of a gate which is already installed, it is necessary to dismantle it to bring it closer to the front face of the pillar.
Similarly, the cylinder can only be fixed close to an edge of the pillar. Very often, given these conditions, this is likely to cause the pillar to split, since it is at the edges that such risks are most likely.
Furthermore, taking this fixing mode into consideration, it often proves very difficult to make subsequent adjustments in order to optimize, if necessary, the operation of the assembly.
It is also noted that it is necessary: to arrange a central stop, cooperating with the leaf, namely in the closing position. This stop also acts to mechanically lock the cylinder or another actuator. Besides, the leaf is submitted, when it is closed, under the thrust effect of the cylinder rod, to a tensile load which tends to create a tearing effect at the hinges. Similarly, considering the force applied by the cylinder to dose the gate and the reaction force resulting from the stop, the gate is submitted to a buckling effect.
Finally, it is necessary to highlight that the installation of the cylinder, directly onto the pillar and leaf, proves to be both long and delicate and calls for the strict adherence to the dimensions provided by the manufacturer, likely to guarantee the correct operation of the cylinder.